May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

At the conference area set up for the New Orleans Aviation Board's meeting to select a contractor, a banner promises "The Future is Now Boarding!" That is a future that some Veterans Heights residents fear they will be left out of.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

Mayor Mike Yenni (left) and aide Greg Buisson (center) met Jacqueline Brown (right), a Veterans Heights resident, on the lawn in front of her home. Brown told the mayor she was concerned about what she fears will be the displacement of black residents in one of Kenner's poorest, densest black neighborhoods.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

On a recent tour through the developing neighborhood, Mayor Mike Yenni was optimistic that the new airport terminal will be a boon to businesses up and down Loyola Ave and Veterans Memorial Boulevard, that will benefit from increased traffic to the airport's north side. As well, he says he will not stand for the expropriation of more Kenner homes and...

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

Steven Walker leads his horse, Jinny, from her stable on Aberdeen Street to a spot of grass she likes that abuts what is now an airport access for private planes -- close to where the new terminal will rise. When the stables' former owner bought the land, Aberdeen Street was a dirt road.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

John Falterman points to a spot that marks the boundary of his property. He owns a welding shop on Aberdeen Street directly across from what he has gauged will be the new entrance to the proposed north terminal, and worries that airport plans will cut customers off from easily accessing his shop -- which now hosts repairs on everything from...

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

A woman crosses Aberdeen Street -- the only route to the airport's north fence, now heavily trafficked by vehicles reaching the industrial area to the airport's west; a major complaint for residents here. The empty lots running alongside Aberdeen were expropriated from 1994 to 2009, to make way for a proposed four-lane road lined with noise walls that will feed...

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

At the end of McSpaddin's block, Decatur Street, is a field where her son Cary likes to play. Past the trees that edge it will rise the new $650 million terminal, parking garage, and a proposed hotel -- none of which McSpaddin will use; she doesn't fly.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

The back of Michael Brooks' home will be bounded by a noise wall, to protect it from traffic. While Brooks believed assurances from airport officials at neighborhood meetings in 2013, he says others were more wary.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

D.J. Estopinal, who owns a home by the northeast corner of the airport's land, points out how close his home is from the proposed terminal. He say he does not believe what airport officials have told him -- that the new terminal will not affect his quality of life.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

Vacant land for sale between D.J. Estopinal's home and the airport's wall. He worries that if the airport expands north, the land will be valuable to businesses that serve the terminal -- food processors, cargo storage, and other uses that he says aren't fitting for the neighborhood.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

But some businesses, such as the Kenner landmark Check-In Check-Out, are well-positioned to benefit from the increased traffic of travelers to the airport's north face. Owner Jack Manasco is excited and optimistic about how the new terminal will draw more customers.

May 28, 2014, 10:58AM

The neighborhood known as Veterans Heights in Kenner is wedged between Veterans Memorial Boulevard and the north wall of the Louis Armstrong International Airport -- a site selected for the location of a proposed new $650 million airport terminal.

January 16, 2014, 5:42PM

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu shakes hands with people after an event announcing plans for a new airport terminal at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner Thursday, January 16, 2014. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

January 16, 2014, 5:42PM

Wanda Rouzan and The Original Pin Stripe Brass Band perform as people gather at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for the unveiling of plans for a new airport terminal in Kenner Thursday, January 16, 2014. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

January 16, 2014, 5:42PM

People gather at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for the unveiling of plans for a new airport terminal in Kenner Thursday, January 16, 2014 (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

July 06, 2012, 7:15PM

BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Evelyn Pourciau stands in her sister in law's drive way in Kenner Friday, July 6, 2012. Pourciau, who lives next door and witnessed Pan American World Airways Flight 759 falling before it crashed to the ground 1982, says the wing of the aircraft clipped the tree in the foreground.

July 06, 2012, 7:15PM

BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES0-PICAYUNE Evelyn Pourciau was brushing her dog on her back patio and witnessed Pan American World Airways Flight 759 falling before it crashed to the ground in front of her Fairway Street house in 1982.